Teenagers from Stratford had a brilliant Pop Star Party at Born in a Barn Studio over the weekend choosing to sing ‘Move’ by Little Mix for their Gold party.

Izzy has just turned 13 and what better way to celebrate than having a party at BB Studio with her friends. Gold parties focus on getting a great song recorded and filmed so after the party I can create a very cool video for them all. With more time to focus on the song it is nice to help the girls sing all the parts and get what we need for a great sound - Move is not the easiest song to sing but this group did a great effort at replicating the song in the time we had so well done all of you. There were some great characters in this group and plenty of interaction making the filming easy to capture cool moments for the video.

Well done everyone.

Parties at the barn are all unique and powered by the kids - if you know any kids who have a birthday popping up in the next year then why not let them know about Pop Star Party!!

Wow it’s been 2 weeks since I completed my 1st marathon in Dublin. How time flies.

So after the marathon I had a week in Ireland and on return had a full week of studio bookings and plenty to catch up on which I guess is why its taken so long to complete the journey of my marathon training and blogging about it on here.

The run itself went went perfectly - I had a plan, I had trained hard, I had been careful with diet and hydration in the couple of weeks prior to the run and I got the mix of everything right on the day. The only thing I hadn’t banked on was the sudden cold front hitting Ireland Saturday meaning the start of the day was a chilly 2 degrees Celsius - so to combat this I had to start my day walking the streets of Dublin in pyjama bottoms and an old orange hoody - i looked very silly but didn’t care. I was 1 of 20,000 others who was starting the race dressed in old clothes.

The race went well. I started the race smiling and enjoyed the first few miles running through the Phoenix park and just taking in the atmosphere of thousands of feet pounding the ground. I saw my supporters at the 10 mile marker, offloading my hoody to them at that point and blowing a kiss to my wife. Really great moment and by then I was warm and just enjoying the vibe. I decided that by running close to the crowd and smiling madly at everyone I got more names shout outs and this gives a little rush of adrenaline helping boost morale for the next hill or whatever - crowd supporters really help. So big big thanks to all the people who turned out to line the street of Dublin in such cold weather.

After 13.1 miles and going past the half way banners I just felt I had got this and nothing was going to stop me finishing. As I went past the 20 mile marker I was feeling tired but not exhausted and definitely motivated even more by the crowds still. I had used 4 of my ‘Torq’ power gels by this point and decided to not take the others as I was getting stomach cramps - probably due to not taking enough water with them even tho i was carrying and drinking water pretty often - maybe just not often enough but the old brain couldn’t work this out after running for 3 hours. But because I had driven the route on Friday before the race I knew there was a nasty hill just after 22 miles so I decided to take a 5th gel just before this point and it definitely worked - i ran up the hill smiling at the crowd knowing there was nothing left to stop me completing now. At 26 mile crowd cheering area I saw the support crew again which was a nice lift to get me down the last stretch - legs were definitely hurting a lot now but I could see the end line. I finished the race with a chip time of 4 hrs 08 mins 05 secs to collect the medal.

So it was done. The rest of the day was a whirlwind of meeting up with the support crew in Sheenan’s Bar for Guinness and pics, then back to basecamp for showers and straight back into Dublin to take my parents around the Guinness factory then out for a meal before finally going into Temple Bar for celebration drinks with my brother who had run the marathon as well despite having an injured right calf muscle. Ian had been a great mentor/coach for a most of the year behind the scenes and had finished it in just under 4 hours - not bad for a 50 year old!

So that’s it for marathon blogs and I want to thank all the sponsors who helped me raise some money for the charity I chose to run for. ChildLine Ireland or the ISPCC (Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children) do an amazing job of supporting children who call them asking for help when they feel they are in danger. All charities do amazing work but charities supporting kids are amongst the most vital in my mind. With 40 sponsors in the end I went way past my original target of €750 and finished with a grand total of €1,239.44 - so chuffed with this; so a huge thanks to all those that supported the charity and me through these donations.

A few big thanks to the support crew - Mum & Dad flew over from Cornwall to stand in the cold at almost 80 years old - amazing. Richard & Janice for providing base camp in their house. Jean & Rhys who met us in the pub with Moya, Rachel & Grace afterwards for our winners pint of Guinness.

Also I want to mention Susan Ogden for the Kangen Water in the week leading up to the race, Wendi Sartain for lending me a Kangen Water machine for the week, NewGen Superfoods Plus for their amazing food supplement powder which has kept my body healthy all year really and the bloke in the shop in Leamington (Essential Sports) who did my gait analysis, sold me my Asics trainers and gave advise about all things running - great guy. Also Irish Joe for giving me the inspiration and catchphrase which I would like to pass on to anyone else considering running - just get out the door - the rest will follow! Oh and Sue Roberts of Advanced Healing Therapies who worked a minor miracle by healing my poorly left leg after running the Kenilworth half marathon.

So what next?

Well I did say I was aiming for running 1 marathon before i hit 50 and my catchphrase for all these blogs has been: ‘I run parties for kids all year and am running 1 marathon in October’ but since the leg pains have died down and I have started walking normally again theres been a new challenge open up to me. Ian has invited me to run the Cairo marathon on Friday Feb 15th - the route takes in amazing views of the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx - initially I was not bothered as I had completed the mission of running a marathon before I got to 50, but I have always wanted to see the Pyramids, Ian lives just outside Cairo and it’s a great way to return the gesture of his support for me in Dublin so, I have agreed. To Cairo I shall go go. Don’t worry I won’t be writing blogs about this one!!

Finally a massive thanks to my wife Rachel for putting up with all the pain, suffering & moaning and for her support and my daughter Grace for riding her bike on countless training runs this last year.

Szonja who is of Hungarian descent, had a wonderful party with her mates from Leicestershire recently.

She chose the Gold Party which meant we were filming for 1 of the songs and possibly singing 2 depending on time. Fortunately things went very smoothly and we did get 2 songs in the time. Szonja had chosen to sing One Kiss by Calvin Harris/Dua Lipa for her video and Attention by Charlie Puth to start the party - both great choices.

Nothing was gonna stop these kids from having fun and they sang their hearts out and gave it everything for the video filming too. Well done everyone including Mum & Dad who clearly enjoyed themselves too. See you next year!

Amy and her friends had a wicked time at the barn for Amy’s 9th birthday over the weekend.

Amy had opted for the Silver Party and chosen Girls by Rita Ora along with This is Me from the Greatest Showman soundtrack. A very spirited gang this lot but they focussed well on the singing when the record light was on and we got great versions of both songs. Amy’s Mum had brought an amazing cake that despite being slightly damaged en route was definitely a hit with the kids. Top marks on the cake.

We sometimes try to make a band name out of the 1st letters of all the kids’ names and today we came up with ‘Eg Samosa’ for this group!!

So things are going really well with the training for my 1st marathon.

There’s only 2 weeks left before I head off to Holyhead to catch a ferry to Dublin. Training is feeling great and my daughter is forcing me to do body core exercises (which she learns at dance class) on top of the running - plus I’ve thrown cycling & swimming into the programme.

The diet is proving fun - eating tons of steak & chips, pasta based meals and oily fish as often as I can but that’s the normal stuff. This week my power gels arrived and today I tried running on just 1 - they are a high power energy & caffeine mix (amongst other stuff) which seem to work quite well. I have done all my training naturally but figure that one of the best aspects of amateur marathon racing is that you can use some legal drug assistance - why not!

Over the Summer I tried dropping alcohol out of the equation and we succeeded for a good while especially whilst on holiday but I have to admit I am not entirely tea total anymore - there has to be some pleasures in life!! More recently I have started drinking natural vegetable juices - you know what … they are actually quite nice.

On the day I’m going to be using Kangen water too - this ionised stuff absorbs into the body tons better and so doesn’t get wasted in sweat so fast - apparently. I love a bit of science.

Lastly as I have mentioned in most of my blogs about running, I am using a food supplement by NewGen called Superfoods Plus - it’s a powder added to water & seems to help in being healthy and energised all day. They have a new product launching very soon specifically for athletes which I might just get into if it’s available soon.

So my weight has dropped quite a bit this year too. I started at 15’5” and today am 13’9” - the way things are going I may be down to 13’5" by the time of the run, so losing 2 full stones this year entirely down to running.

Oh what a day Sunday was. The 2nd official Half Marathon race in 1 month and everything went perfectly. I completed the run in 1:56 mins and didn’t do any damage to my leg muscles and I got to meet Richard Whitehead again (double gold paralympic medalist & double world record holder) in the VIP tent after the race - my brother in law runs the agency behind the sponsorship management for the race so we get invited along as guest - really cool and free burgers after the race! I ran this with my wife Rach and she also got a personal best. After the race we found out we had new baby in the family too so everyone was celebrating.

So now all that’s left is normal training, called tapering, where the runs get slightly less as we approach the marathon race day in Dublin on October 28th. I feel ready. I feel fit.

After completing 2 Half Marathons in such good times both under 2 hours and now no injuries I feel that everything is looking good and I might even get close to a 4 hour marathon.

So the race organisers invite contestants to pick a charity to raise money for and I picked this right at the time of entry last November. I will be raising money for the Irish Child Line called the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children or ISPCC and the link to support me through this is below the pics here.

Just a quick post about veggies - a question we get asked quite regularly is about whether the buffet that we put on good for vegetarians. The answer is it can be - normally we make a big platter of ham sandwiches and add easy to eat finger food to the purple tiered display stand like mini sausage rolls and egg bites, but when asked to cater for vegetarians (which is all part of the checklist sent to you 1 week in advance of your party) then we simply change things accordingly.

The other option is that parents provide their own food and we amend the party cost accordingly - it’s your party and we want you to be happy. Just ask.

What a week - after being injured and all the panic that brings to the table I’ve been magically repaired with electricity and proving that it worked I’ve run 4 runs this week 8k, 10k, 12k & 12k late last night.What a surprise I got when I received a personal message from Richard Whitehead about next Sunday’s Half Marathon in Nottingham - amazing.

Just outside the studio where Pop Star Party is held is a very special tree - a Damson tree - every year it’s both the biggest nuisance and the best thing you could wish for - when the damsons drop it’s madness outside on the decking - if I catch it right and collect them I get an enormous amount of free fruit but if I don’t the decking gets kinda splashed and spattered with purple juice! This year has gone really well and every other night I’m busy making jam! So if you want some free damson jam just book a party and collect it when you’re having the pop star party.

So - if you’re reading this and wondering what has this got to do with children’s parties - read on.

I’ve been using this blog to write about my training for running a marathon which is due to happen in Dublin next month on Sunday 28th October. This month I have seemingly injured myself and I am annoyed - with myself mainly!! I run children’s parties all year and am training to run 1 marathon in October. The charity I have chosen is ChildLine (Ireland) - maybe it’s starting to make more sense now.

So after the Kenilworth Half I have had calf pain - I over ran on the final kilometre enjoying the crowd buzz and going for a sub 2hour PB - what a plonker. It turns out my calf muscle is stretched but it’s not too crazy and I am resting it - this is not easy - its frustrating not being able to run but I can’t afford to let it get worse - More immediately on Sunday 30th September I’m running the Nottingham Half and I need both my calf’s!!

BUT - not all is lost - also at the studio I produce music and video for various people and businesses. I have worked closely for a couple of years, with Sue Roberts, who is the clinic owner at Advanced Healing Therapies and yesterday I got to put her to the test!! She can put right many things that go wrong with our bodies using specialist electrical equipment in her clinic using Myopulse technology - it’s a bit odd, but it works. Electricity is use to realign the cells that are disrupted in tears and strains and then allowed to work again starting the natural process of self healing and cell replication with blood flow, rather than the body shutting down blood flow to the ruptured area - clever stuff!! Check it all out here: www.advancedhealingtherapies.co.uk

Sunday was a somewhat unique day.All year I have been training for a marathon, which I will be running in October next month in Dublin. All year I have been running parties and all year I have been attempting to write interesting blogs about my training for running a marathon and running parties!

But on Sunday I was running an official Half Marathon race in my home town of Kenilworth and also running a party for some wonderful 11 year kids at the studio in Ansty. Would I be fit enough to manage both?

Fortunately I kinda knew I would be, because I have run on party days before but never as far as a half marathon. Coupled onto this was the added stress that I was flying home from Spain the night before the race, so if there had been any flight delays I would have been unable to do much about it. You are supposed to eat a massive pasta meal the night before a big race but finding anything at that time in the little airport in Bilbao was not happening and most places in Heathrow were shut when we landed, so I made do with a dodgy Burrito somewhere on the M40.

So the flight went well and we got home, I had about 7 hours sleep and then it was race day - go to the Holiday Inn and collect race number for 8.15am, do a bit of warm up stretches and running by 9am. The run went brilliantly and I enjoyed the route - mainly uphill for the first half and mainly downhill for the second half. The run to the finish line was well planned by the organisers too - all downhill from the clock-tower in Kenilworth High Street to the finish line by the entrance to Talisman Square - an easy and fast way to finish.

So that went well!There were now just 4 hours before the party was due to start at 3pm.

No problem - when the party kids arrived, the studio was booming and gleaming ready for the first party of the school year and 11 kids all aged (nearly) 11 rocked in ready to sing their chosen songs. Sophie and her party pals from Barwell near Hinckley were all very well rehearsed and almost knew the song backwards - today we were doing Flashlight by one of my fave singers Jessie J but from the musical Perfect Pitch 2. Sophie took a couple of the big moments and last line making it extra special and the group as a whole sang very well making recording pretty straightforward - phew!After the photo session and a bit of food Sophie was straight back onto the mic to record a duet of the song Space Between from Descendents 2 with her friend Maisie. Both of them had clearly rehearsed the parts very well before the party making Dove & Sophia look rubbish by comparison!! Well done girls.

So the 1st Term of 2018/19 kicked off really well - a personal best for me running a half marathon in under 2 hours (1hr:55) and a superb party in the afternoon with some super singers!

It was the last week of the Summer Break and we had the opportunity to be in Spain on what most would regard as a holiday, but we tried desperately not too!

Whilst the wife was at work there, we could dedicate the last portion of Summer to my daughters' 11+ exam (as cramming time) and more marathon training for me in the heat, but for once it would be at least very flat. Beaches have a habit of being pretty flat and San Sebastian was no exception. The promenade was about 4k long in a huge curve and that provided great flat training to help build a bit of speed. So in fact we did spend 5 days sat in a hotel room and the piano bar to get some last minute revision work done and I got 2 runs in. Not much for a week with a huge platform to run on but theres a reason. A couple of days before we flew out to Spain I had completed a second big run starting at 6am and managed 31k in 3 hours, walking the last kilometre home as my left leg started to have a slight pain. I was very happy with having run comfortably for 3 hours and didn't want to push a niggle to an injury - plus I had a full days work ahead of me and an all night session at the studio with my band - followed by the flight to Spain - so i was happy with 31k!

So in Spain when I first ran it was to see if the pain had gone - and it hadn't really. I managed a fast 5k then a normal speed 10k run but wasn't gonna push anything whilst there. I knew that I had to be fit for my return cos I was entered to run the Kenilworth Half Marathon on Sunday (next blog) once home and we weren't due to land till Saturday eve in London and be home around midnight.

So the week in Spain with a pain, possibly a sprain, was a blame for the lame amount of training! Or something!!

So our actual holiday (still heavily loaded with learning for 11+ and running training) was a trip to Boston to my wife's parents' home and a trip to New York on a rather fancy black bus (pictured below - big up LimoLiner you were really cool)

The heat was great and hitting temperatures of 30 degrees Celcius regularly - this made for early morning runs only and well planned training. The family home is in an area where it's very hilly and there's lots of forest, so mosquito bites are common and tons of spraying is needed if you are anywhere outside. Training gets you sweaty and mossies love sweat so we had to be vigilant. I got a couple of good 10k runs in around the Hopkinton neighbourhood and in Boston Common before we went to New York and was hell bent on running a half marathon in Central Park, New York. We hired a bike for my daughter and started the run in the rain hoping that Apples weather forecasting was gonna be accurate and we would finish it in dry warm air - which we did. The park is not remotely flat and has lots of interesting features making for a really good run but I had mad neck pains at the start of the run which miraculously disappeared during the run - running is therapeutic!! Obviously whilst in New York we did tons of sightseeing and visited many places like the Hard Rock Cafe, Harlem Gospel Choir (dinner) and Stardust (where upcoming actors sing to you whilst serving food) but nothing quite compared to standing in peacefulness of the Ground Zero site and seeing the massive sink hole water features made to remember 9/11. Just amazing and really pleased we visited this area and the museum there too.

At the start of the Summer we had to go to Belgium and as I have tried to explain to friends and family this was not a holiday but a relocation for training and study.

We took an AirBnB house which was away from a town and basically right alongside a cornfield. We were only there a few days but I got 3 big runs in and achieved the new goal - to run a marathon distance every week in the lead up to the big date in October. A friend of mine who has previously done triathlons (representing England) gave me the advise that doing the distance every week was important to training, so the challenge was set.

Another challenge was also set around this time (from 14th August in fact) - no more alcohol. Running training was to increase, alcohol was to be cut out and diet was going to be assessed more closely. So a world of low alcohol and no alcohol drinks was unleashed and some of them are really good - especially this Hoegarden lemon&lime drink - awesome.

So it's been a month since the last blog about running - and its been a very busy time for me.

Generally the summer is a quiet time for parties and this year we have absolutely packed our summer out with family trips to make the running training interesting and varied, but also to keep life interesting for my daughter who is studying for her 11+ exam in September - a lot of work is going into this!

But this blog is a short one to mention a very special party for a very special Mum - my mother in law turned 70 this year and we had a bit of a 'do' for her in America whilst visiting earlier this month. Here is her cake - we do like cake at Pop Star Party - a lot.

I got up at 5am for todays big run and was out by about 5.40am ready and prepared for what I hoped was to be a 32k run - that's 3/4 of a marathon and from what I've learned most people training for their first marathon would not do more than this distance in their training - and it would be about a month before the race date.

I've brought the distance forward a bit because today is a big day too. Running parties is what I do usually for kids having birthdays who are about 8-12/13 but today is my brothers birthday and he is 50!!

Fifty - that's like a half century!! Happy Birthday IAN.

So because my brother Ian will be running the marathon with me in October (he has run marathons before) I figured I should put max effort in today and do a serious big run to mark his birthday.Some of the parties that have happened this month have been an inspiration too and I have asked the kids to sing Happy Birthday to Ian to celebrate his 50th - these have now all been sent to him in Cairo where he lives. So thank you to all those kids that helped out.

So the preparation went well - good protein/carb meal last night about 9pm after getting back from the studio and early to bed to get good sleep. Up at 5am with my ever supportive wife (training for a half marathon in September) and a small breakfast, plenty of liquids and off we went.

I stayed with wifey for the first 10k then she split off to go home. Our daughters at Brownie camp so this was a perfect time for us to do this.

After 21k (half marathon distance) I decided to have the muesli bar I had brought with me for extra energy but OMG never doing this again - I couldn't chew - it took around a half kilometer to eat the bugger and I nearly coughed on it twice. They are not the right food for energy on the go. I've got to get some of the gels people talk about. So things went really tho and the heat was not a problem this time. 5am to 6/7am is a cool time of the day with all the smells of pollen and calm roads. By 27k I was flagging tho but the need to smash 30k was enough to keep me going and smash it I did - brilliant feeling to keep going under psychological pain. At 30.5k I was faced with the biggest hill in Kenny and out of water, so i decided to walk and not get a needless injury. At the top of the hill was an old man doing something random in his drive and I asked him if he would mind refilling my water bottles - he gave me the hose pipe saying "its all the same stuff!" and then miraculously for like about 1 minute it rained! But I was refreshed and refuelled so kept going and ran to 32k. I was happy with that but had sort of set my goal on 34k really so I walked 1k and ran the last.

After running for so long then walking, my calf muscles had given up i think and so maybe this wasn't the best idea - I've heard trainers saying that it's better to keep going and run really slow than stop and/or walk - now I know why. Anyway - I feel really positive now that a marathon is possible for me - 34k is only 8k away and about 80% the distance - I've got 3 months training left and visiting Belgium, Boston, New York and Spain is going to be inspiration to keep training hard. Bring it on!

Eve had the last party of the school year yesterday with a select few mates from school. Her birthday is actually in August but her very organised parents sorted out her party just before everyone shoots off to hot places over the Summer - not that we need to pop anywhere right now - this mad heatwave is relentless.

Singing Camilla Cabello's 'Havana' seemed entirely appropriate in the heat and fortunately the group all sang very well helping the song to be recorded quickly - even the rap didn't prove too tricky and Eve delivered it with conviction!

Photoshoot and Booster Buffet next and they munched through everything ready for the filming session. The Greatest Showman really does have the best soundtrack - 'This Is Me' starts off quiet but quickly builds and stays full on to the end making a song for the party atmosphere and easy to make a video to. The girls did well, glow sticks, a formal routine for 'this is me' bits and some very cool shades. Video looks and sounds ace.

Afterwards when I was trying to ask which out of her 10 birthday parties did she think was the best I got cut short before finishing the question and Eve just shouted 'This One' - my work is done!

I can't even remember how long this heatwave has been going on, but it's a long time.

It first reared its' ugly head when I was due to run a big distance training run which I had decided I wanted to do at least 30k on and crack the 30k barrier. Previous to this I had managed 24k (twice) so felt I was ready. I was - but I was also a bit unprepared and didn't eat anything like enough the night before. I set off what I though was early enough but after 2 hours the sun came out and just roasted me - luckily I was close to the sports centre at Warwick University so was able to grab so fresh water, but it wasn't enough and the sun soon won the battle against my will to continue.

So yes I experienced the wall at the end of June - it wasn't nice but I guess at least I know about it now.

Tomorrow I am hoping to succeed and have planned out a 33k run, will be piling in the carbs for tea tonight and will be leaving at 5.30am to start the 3 hour run - this will be my longest run to date and I'm told not to push closer to the marathon distance if 42k before the race in October cos it can be detrimental - Im not sure yet - I might give it a go in a month!

Pic below is from when I did the 2 Castles run in June. Tomorrow is gonna be like running that 3 times!

Lucy brought a big party of friends to the barn recently and had just an amazing party. All her party pals were great singers making the recording side of things quick and easy to achieve especially with the first song choice of This Is Me from The Greatest Showman (such a cool song) leaving plenty of time for posing on the red carpet, munching their booster buffet and of course filming their pop video to Shake It Off.

The sun was out (well we are having a heatwave) so we took the filming out onto the decking too after doing the green screen run. All the kids were smiling and jumping and having fun all the way through each filming run so the video just looks wicked with all those smiley faces.

Her Mum made a very special cake in the design of a mirror ball which had multi coloured and layered inside with surprise skittles inside too - top effort Mum!!

Last month has been an eye opener in so many ways. June took me abroad a second time but this time to Portugal where there are forrest's of Eucalyptus trees - or used to be. They suffered tremendously last year in the fires but are showing superb signs of growing back - it will take a good few more years to fully recover though. Anyone who pictures a forrest will imagine vast expanses of green - not black.

A friend of mine has a property in Portugal that he is doing up and I offered to pop out and help in the labouring department and be a moral boost - I also got a really cheap holiday and the chance to train in a different environment - the forrest is on a mountain and everywhere is steep steep steep. Running around these roads was exhilarating and of course I was careful not to overdo anything, as with different terrains you get different sprains. I clocked an 11k run in Coimbra district which was good enough for me. Sleeping on a camp bed and working hard in the 38 degree heat was interesting - fortunately this area is very rural and completely the opposite to Norway - wine is mega cheap!!

And then one night we went to the local town and watched the Sardine Festival - I never imagined I would be writing this in a zillion years - yes the town had gone sardine mad - everywhere people were grilling sardines and selling them and a procession came through with people dancing, holding giant sized sardines on sticks so big it took 2 adults to hold them - bizarreeeeee.

I think this town is very comfortably stuck in the 70's - not a care in the world. I will be back.

It was a great break full of hard work and intense heat, running and seeing yet another different side of life - the world's a big place - or sardine even!